The approach for sand soils differs from the approach for clay soils, because the different

behaviour of both materials. Therefore some parts are treated separately for sand and clay in the sections below. -Installation -Operation -Recovery

Overview of installation equipment (Offshore Soil

echanics!

The operation requirements depend on whether the use of the suction pile, as foundation of moorin" and vertically or hori#ontally. This also determines the anchor line attachment point, the pad-eye. $or vertical load this pad-eye is fi%ed on the top plate, for loads under an an"le the pad-eye is attached at &'( from the lower end of the pile. Typical (tensile! forces on the top plate vary from &)) to *+) ton. The three main failure mechanisms are,

Shaft failure

This type of failure appears when the friction forces alon" the caisson-s s.irts fails under the tensile forces on the top plate. This happened in case of pure vertical tension and usually tears out a plu" of soil alon" with the caisson itself.

Translation failure

Translation failure occurs when the caisson is pulled sideways, due to which a soil plu" can fail on the pulled side of the caisson and even a tension crac. can occur at the bac.side of the caisson.

Rotation failure

In this case, the pad-eye is not at its optimal position for the applied load (under an an"le!. This offset creates a moment, which in case in failure can not be restored by the soil around the caisson.

Combination of the latter two failure modes can also occur, i.e. translation and rotation failure.

Recovery is done by lowerin" the pump onto the caisson it by means of doc.in" cones and attachin" onto the caisson with hydraulic latch pins. The installation process described above is then simply reversed, pushin" the caisson out. The

friction for sand soils is however hi"her due to the reversed water flow, but one can e%ert additional tensile force to recover the caisson. The caisson is hoisted bac. on to the installation vessel, ready for re-employment/
Suction caisson with pump attached (www.suctionpile.com!